Just couldn't help myself!
I
know I've created a redone 1973 Johnny Bench card a while back, and
even printed it up as part of my old Series 2 pack, but coming across
this image made me desperately want to use this for another 1973
edition:
Just
a beautiful up close and personal in-action shot of the great catcher
in his prime with the "Big Red Machine" Cincinnati Reds.
I don’t know about you, but the 1973 Johnny Bench card has always irked
me.
I hated the image they used for the reigning National League MVP and
uber-star.
Of course, at the time this card would have been pulled from a pack we
had Johnny Bench pretty much taking over the baseball world with his
second MVP Award in three years, and STILL only 24 years of age, when he
slammed a league-leading 40 home runs with 125 runs batted in while
taking the Cincinnati Reds back to the World Series.
It was the beginning of the monster we’d get to know as the aforementioned “Big Red Machine”, with other future Hall of Fame members like Tony Perez and Joe Morgan, along with Pete Rose. But it was Bench that was the on-field general leading the way for one of the all-time great runs by an organization.
He wasn’t all offense mind you, as evidenced by his fifth straight Gold Glove. His fifth, and again I have to mention he was only 24!
Incredible talent.
Genuinely a once in a lifetime player.
It was the beginning of the monster we’d get to know as the aforementioned “Big Red Machine”, with other future Hall of Fame members like Tony Perez and Joe Morgan, along with Pete Rose. But it was Bench that was the on-field general leading the way for one of the all-time great runs by an organization.
He wasn’t all offense mind you, as evidenced by his fifth straight Gold Glove. His fifth, and again I have to mention he was only 24!
Incredible talent.
Genuinely a once in a lifetime player.